WEDNESDAY, Oct. 9, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Cases of a tick-borne parasitic disease have steadily increased in recent years, a new study shows. Rates of babesiosis increased an average 9% a year in the United States between 2015 and 2022, researchers reported in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases .
Further, four in 10 patients with babesiosis also were infected with other tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease, researchers said. “These findings suggest that clinicians should have a heightened vigilance of co-infection of other tick-borne illness among patients admitted with babesiosis,” said lead researcher Dr. Paddy Ssentongo , an infectious disease fellow with Penn State Health Milton S.
Hershey Medical Center. “Ticks can carry other bacteria that cause Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases like anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis.” Babesiosis is sometimes referred to as “American malaria,” because the babesia parasite infects a person’s red blood cells similarly to malaria, researchers explained in background notes.
The parasite is transmitted by the bite of black-legged ticks, and is found primarily in Northeastern and Midwestern states. Infected people often experience flu-like symptoms, researchers said. The disease can be deadly for older adults, people with compromised immune systems or for those who lack a spleen.
For the study, researchers analyzed national health data for more than 250 million people in the United States and identified more tha.